Experts set market devt agenda for new SEC DG

Experts in capital market and finance have advised the newly appointed Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda, to prioritise the sustained implementation of the 10-Year Capital Market Master Plan in order to attract more investable funds to the economy.

Commenting on the legislative endorsement of the nominee, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, said: “There is no doubt that Mary Uduk did very well as Ag. DG. So, I expect him to continue from where she is signing off.

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“Since the days of Arunma Oteh as DG through Munir Gwarzo, there has been a major agenda, which is the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan.

“So, the new DG Lamido Yuguda already has his job well cut out for him. All he needs to do is to pick up the document, revise and update it and then hit the ground running with the remaining outstanding initiatives in the Master Plan.

Another expert and investment coach, Dr Timi Olubiyi, advised the new Director General  to “to come up with policy responses that will cushion the effect of the COVID-19 on the Nigerian capital market as soon as possible.

According to him, there is also the need for the SEC boss to promote digital economy at this time and also develop regulatory policies and institutional framework to allow the Nigerian capital market function without hindrances or borders with technological innovations.

Olubiyi, a university don and Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management expert, also charged Yakubu on the need for him to “improve on regulations to further promote remote trading, online submission of reports, virtual meetings, video conferencing and AGMs by proxies, among other imperatives to make the investment climate more conducive for all stakeholders.

In his remarks, Mr. David Aku, an economist based in Enugu said the time had come to deepen the capital market, stressing that the SEC DG must work outside of the box to ensure the capital market recovers quickly from the negative impact of the COVID-19.